


Together

by RedLlamas



Category: Original Work
Genre: Airports, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Carolina is very very lightly mentioned, Falling In Love, Growing Up Together, Italy, M/M, Meet-Cute, Phone Calls & Telephones, Religious Discussion, Roma | Rome, St. Peter's Basilica, Summer Vacation, Surprise Kissing, background Lunè and Heli, of the gay kind, sensorial visions, technically they don't meet each other until later but it still counts ok?, vnkjsnkvdf I'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18579943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLlamas/pseuds/RedLlamas
Summary: When you turn 18, you start getting sensorial visions of your soulmate. You learn small things about them, different facts, likes, dislikes, feelings, sensations. It's common to meet your soulmate around your 21st year, and once you meet, all visions will stop. Now it's up to you to pursue your relationship.Dakota Valdez starts getting visions.





	Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluest_ocean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluest_ocean/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY BITCH!!!!!!

Dakota woke up to his radio clock. It was blasting “[Treasure](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy6Arnjp-hQ)” by Bruno Mars. He wanted to murder Bruno Mars.

He reached over to turn it down, but only hit air. He lifted his head from his pillow.

Wait a second. He doesn't have a radio clock. Hell, his alarm clock isn't even on the nightstand.

He reached for his clock from under his pillow. It read six a.m.

Oh right. It's his birthday. His 18th birthday, to be exact. And thus, meant the beginning of his soulmate visions.

Great. His soulmate had a fucking radio clock. He's gonna murder them when they meet.

 

Emilia was leering at him on the bus. Mateo didn't look up from his phone.

“What,” he demanded.

“It's your birthday, my dear brother,” Emilia stated. An evil malicious grin was etched into her villainous face. He saw Mateo nod.

“And.”

He got a text from Mateo.

 

_ Did u get anything yet :? _

 

He really didn't want to say. But they were going to pester him and annoy him all day if he said no, because that'd be a bold-faced lie.

“Yes,” he ground out.

Emilia squawked at him to tell them what it was. This was going to be a long day.

 

Koda had always heard of the sensorial visions soulmates got, but never really believed it. He thought maybe the universe would pull them together somehow, making them move towards each other – that's what he thought they meant. Not,

This.

These visions were mildly unsettling. He now got the sudden urge to go stargazing in the middle of the night, asking himself why he was shaking Emilia and Mateo awake on a school night just to go out to the edge of the forest and look up at the sky. Emilia threatened to kill his soulmate for being “such a fucking loser” and he couldn't agree more. Mateo only looked at him square in the pupil and uttered, “Gay,” before following her back home.

Koda stayed, clutching his blanket closer to his frame, desperate to find any constellation at all.

Other visions weren't as bad. Some days he'd wake up to the fresh smell of breakfast, only to find that there was no breakfast served. When he'd be in English class, he'd unconsciously start writing in Swahili. He had to Google Translate what he'd been writing, and was pleasantly surprised he'd actually been on task that class.

There'd be times where he got a vision every day, and others where he'd go weeks without one. He learned to cherish each one.

 

Christmas break was very interesting. It didn't feel cold, or not really.

Winters in Astoria were pretty frigid, with temperatures usually hitting below 52° F. They were wet and overcast. He was always bundled up with a jacket and beanie. If it got cold enough, maybe a scarf.

He's been wearing this attire for several weeks since the middle of fall, but today feels… different.

It's not that cold. Hell, it feels warmer somehow. He decided to just wear a jacket today, see how it turns out for him.

Apparently, sensorial visions don't actually protect you from the weather, so much as change what you personally feel. Even though Koda could feel a light breeze, Emilia kept hounding him to put on the coat she brought with her. It seems that he was cold to the touch, and he was completely unaware.

He wondered where  _ he _ was. Where did he live, that had such mellow weather in the middle of winter.

The last thought he had before he fell asleep was the realization that his soulmate is, in fact, a boy.

 

For spring break, the Valdez's went out to the beach. It was a bit cloudy and gray, but the water was crisp and enjoyable. The beach wasn't as packed today as it would be, but that's alright. They liked keeping away.

Koda was laying down on his towel, basking in the little sunlight that came through the clouds. He heard Emilia and Mateo playing volleyball somewhere closer to the water. His mom was turning the pages in her book.

It was very peaceful.

Until it wasn't.

He suddenly got struck with the cacophonous sounds of an energetic beach, seagulls screaming in the air, waves crashing and going. So many people around him, music blasting from ten different radios along the beach. The sand was hotter underneath his towel, and even the sun shined brighter, taking up the entire sky.

He opened his eyes. For a moment, this vision faltered but came right back around, stronger this time if it was possible.

He felt compelled to go into the water.  _ He _ liked going into the water.

Koda tries to casually make his way to the shoreline, trying his best not to seem like an energetic idiot who's seeing the ocean for the first time.

He felt giddy when the waves started hitting his legs, and he trudged on, wanting to feel the salt and sun on his skin.

He dunked his body underneath, and felt cool water wash over him. He squinted open his eyes, and saw the water light and clear. He lifted his head above the water, and was met with the overcast sky of Seaside. He looked at the water and it was dark.

On the ride home, Mateo asked him, “Where were you?”

“He's from Florida.”

Mateo raised an eyebrow.

“He was at the beach.”

 

The only thing after that was graduation and summer. When he graduated, he got the feeling that his soulmate also finished something. But he got the nagging feeling that his soulmate had to go to summer school. Koda laughed. Poor him.

 

College life was good. He decided to stay nearby, at Clatsop Community College, which was just a ten minute walk from his home. He didn't mind having a small school, and besides, they offer the degree he wants.

Sometimes he'd seemingly dissociate and feel as if he was going faster, remembering that  _ he _ had a car. He'd catch ghosts of conversations, friends cajoling with each other, the cool breeze of the A.C. on his face.

These visions weren't bad. Hell, he didn't have any bad visions while in college.

The visions that he did… take note of were the… wet ones.

His soulmate liked the beach, but it seems that he also liked to get laid. Every time he banged someone, Koda felt his heart race. He'd start blushing, breathe a little quicker. Of course, there was the situation of getting turned on in the middle of class, or waking up with morning wood, which he tried to deal with very succinctly. Very few times has he distinctly felt being entered, and thanks to this, he was usually sexually frustrated most of the time. Jacking off was not enough, and he always thought he'd wait until he met his soulmate, but clearly that was thrown out the window.

This is the reason behind his first boyfriend Paul, who had a nice dick, but a terribly cowardly personality. For the two weeks they were together, Paul managed to make Koda come once. The day Koda was going to break up with him, Paul beat him to the punch. Koda was more than happy to leave him, and thus ended his first relationship.

He hoped  _ he _ could feel his anger. He was going to destroy him when they met.

 

When he graduated college, Emilia graduated high school, and Mateo graduated from 10th grade. Everyone was moving up in the world.

“What’re you gonna do now that you’ve got a degree in ‘Environmental Science’?” Emilia asked him as they drove back from the auditorium where she received her diploma.

He shrugged. “I don’t know.” He wanted to get dicked down. He wanted to stretch his legs and go for a run. He wanted to be on a sandy beach with a boy.

“Want to watch a movie?”

“Always.”

They watched  _ The Robe _ , then immediately followed it with  _ Demetrius and the Gladiators _ . They were good movies, filled Koda with the presence of God.

He got the trip of a lifetime when a soldier is sent to fetch another character. The general tells him to call Casio Querea, and when the soldier leaves, Koda is trying to catch his breath, trying to make the room stop spinning. He clutches Emilia’s hand, makes her worry with the way his face blanches and his stuttered breathing. Someone pauses the movie, and Mateo is helping him to his feet.

Getting up is another trip. He’s suddenly assaulted by too many visions. The sun shining in his face, the sound of crashing waves, the distinct sight of a clear night sky, ice-cold houses, people speaking in another tongue, plane flights that were too long, the sound of a skateboard on concrete, a gentle humid breeze on his face, the roar of a stadium, a back-alley blowjob, neon signs buzzing like flies, palm trees swaying in the breeze, the sting of heartbroken tears.

It’s like watching the fireworks on the Fourth of July, when you can feel the thunder in your heart, in your core.

He’d fallen to the ground. He hadn’t noticed. Mateo was freaking out. Emilia was yelling, something about calling their mom. She was gone away to visit her sister. She’d put Koda in charge. Koda’s on the floor, there’s not much he can do from there.

His dizziness eases up. He very cautiously sits up, and Mateo points to him, tears in his eyes. Emilia whips around to look at him.

“¡What the hell was that, Dakota Enrique Manuel Valdez Juvera, te juro por Dios, if you don’t tell me what’s going on right now, te las vas a ver con–!”

“His name, his name, his name–” Koda babbles, but Emilia’s close to crying, face red with anger and panic.

“What! What name? Whose name?” she demands.

“His name.  _ His _ name,” he tries to explain. Emilia is crying, tears freely falling down her face. She seems to understand, and tries to get her own breathing under control. She gulps, exhales, and calmly asks with a wavering voice,

“What’s his name?”

Koda looks up into her shiny eyes. He’s still in a stupor.

“Cassio.”

 

The nurse and doctor explained that sensorial vision overload was a common occurrence whenever a person learned their soulmate’s name. It varies in strength, with a smoother experience if the soulmates were still a ways from meeting each other, and a stronger, more violent reaction the closer they were to their fateful day.

“Hey, don’t worry kid, this just means you’re gonna meet ‘em soon,” the nurse tried to help, clapping him on the shoulder. Emilia and Koda were still tense, but Mateo was finally breathing smoothly.

“Thank you, but does this mean that he’s fine?” Emilia asks. Koda looks at her forlornly. Why is she such an adult?

“Yeah, nothing to worry about,” the doctor says. He smiles at them, but gets no reaction. “I can prescribe you some pills to help with any lingering headaches, vertigo, nausea.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Koda said. They left the office and went straight to the CVS to pick up Koda's medicine.

He popped one, and felt his body let go of all the tension it had since four hours ago.

He asked if they could finish the movie.

They finished the movie, and Emilia and Mateo slept next to him just in case.

 

He decided that he won’t do anything during summer, and that’s exactly what he did. He let his hair grow out, he became more comfortable in wearing raglan shirts, and he started learning Swahili thanks to Duolingo. At least he’ll be somewhat prepared when he finally meets Cassio face to face.

He still can’t get over that. He knows his name. He repeats it like a mantra. Cassio, Cassio, Cassio.

He blushes and wonders if Cassio also thinks of him this way.

 

He’s turning 21, and that means that he’s going to meet him soon. The general consensus is that soulmates meet each other when they’re both 21. After that, their sensorial visions stop because they’re finally together. For some people, their visions continue – they’re not ready to meet each other yet, and the universe has allowed them to grow enough for their special moment.

Emilia and Mateo planned a trip for his birthday, or rather, birthweek. They’re going to Rome, Italy. He’s always been interested in art and religion, so going here is the perfect destination.

The airport was full of people. White people. Lots of them. Some fellow Latinos. They had to stop at Miami, FL and from there fly to Milan and then arrive at Rome. It was a long flight, and Koda finally understood how bad it is. He couldn’t believe that Cassio did this nearly yearly.

He was sore all over when they finally arrived at the Leonardo da Vinci airport. The bus ride to their hotel was acceptable, the check-in at the lobby of their hotel was far too long for his liking, but when they finally stepped in to their room, he saw heaven in the beds. He immediately changed into his pajamas, and got into bed, his younger siblings following suit. They slept for what felt years, their Circadian cycles slowly syncing to this foreign land.

 

They had lovely tour guides who spoke perfect Spanish. He snuck photos of the Sistine Chapel. His feet hurt, but he wasn’t tired. Many selfies were taken. He wrote down where he’s been, took photos of the paintings he’d studied back in 12th grade.

They went to St. Peter’s Basilica. They saw Michelangelo’s Pieta, and Emilia broke down crying. They neared St. Peter’s tomb, and Koda was overcome with a very powerful presence.

A congregation suddenly appeared, holding mass. It was in Italian, but he knew the words. The sound of those Italians all praying as one voice took him by surprise, and suddenly he began crying. Their singing reverberated around the basilica, finally being used as it was intended. Koda sang with them, in Spanish of course (how could he pray in English?). Emilia and Mateo wanted to keep going, so he wiped his tears as best as he could. He was walking and wiping, though, and he was being led by Mateo, so he wasn’t exactly looking where he was walking.

He bumped into someone, and began saying, “Perdón, perdón, perdón!” while the other guy was saying, “Lo, sorry, sorry!”

Koda was still teary-eyed, and the guy held him steady, slightly crouching for how tall he was. He wouldn’t stop crying, though, so for a moment two strangers held each other in a very vulnerable moment.

Koda took his hands from his face, and looked up at the guy. He seemed worried, and kind. He took a hand from his shoulder and dug around his bag for a napkin, which he handed over to a very grateful Koda.

“Thank you,” he said.

“No problem, it’s okay,” the guy said. He had a kind smile. He tapped Koda’s shoulder and took his hand away. They both made to rejoin their groups, but their eyes were still on each other for a little while longer. Finally, both turned to greet their companies.

“Okay?” Mateo asked, brows furrowed in concern. Koda nodded, and exhaled. He went over to St. Peter and rubbed his smooth foot, praying that he and his soulmate will be okay. They left the basilica and took pictures with the closed door. They went down the stairs, saw the Swiss guards, took a surreptitious picture of them, and walked across the plaza. The obelisk loomed powerfully in the center, seemingly protecting all underneath it.

They passed by the main street of the Vatican City. They didn’t find the Mexican embassy. Oh well.

They ate some carbonara and went grocery shopping at a very small market. The girl at the register seemed offended when they asked for plastic bags.

 

Some days passed, and they went to the Pantheon. Koda felt bad that something so grand and ancient and pagan was transformed into a church. He felt as if some things should just be left alone.

He was going to eat a chocolate, but he instead took a bite of smoke, which ruined the entire chocolate.

They walked and tried their very best to find the Fountain of Trevi. After asking a bewildered yet patient policeman, they managed to find their way to it. It was packed. There was people everywhere.

The Valdez kids snapped several photos, selfies. Koda's feet weren't as sore as they could be, but he sat down next to white American tourists. There were some hooligans yelling behind them, and he looked at the lady next to him and they both laughed.

Mateo wanted a photo of the center of the Fountain, so they moved. He took the photos, and when they turned to leave, Koda walked face first into someone.

“Sorry, oh hey,” Koda said upon realizing who he bumped into. It was the same guy from several days ago, he gave him the napkin at St. Peter's.

“Hey yourself!” He smiled at him, and held his shoulders once more. Koda smiled back, and the guy let go of him.

“Thank you, for the other day.”

“No worries, I understand,” the guy nodded.

“Well,” Koda starts. He's suddenly nervous, blushing under the other man's stare. “I hope you have a nice rest of the day.”

“You too, take care!” The guy says.

They share one last glance before continuing in opposite directions.

“Who was that?” Emilia asks.

“The guy who helped me at St. Peter's.”

“Oh, how nice.”

 

They had taken many photos, eaten so much carbonara, and taken so many memories of Rome. It was finally time to come back home.

They said goodbye to the receptionists, and Koda got the window seat in the bus back to the airport. He saw the fields go by, reminding him of the train ride to Florence.

They walked and walked, through the Da Vinci airport, onto a plane to Milan, through the endless halls of shops, to their gate back to Miami.

As they pulled up to their gate, however, Koda was met with a familiar face.

He froze to the spot, wondering what to do, when Emilia pushed him to sit down by him, unaware of who exactly it was. At the sudden commotion, the kind stranger looked to him, and smiled.

“Hey! It's the first time we meet and you don't crash into my arms!” He reached over to clap Koda's shoulder, who only surprisedly smiled back.

“Yeah, I, uh, I was thinking of switching it up for today,” Koda tried. The guy laughed, and Koda felt his heart jump at the sound.

Emilia flopped down next to him. “Koda, Mateo went to the bathroom.”

At that, the guy's face went slack with surprise. He looked at her, then back to Koda.

“Uh, I think we haven't introduced ourselves yet,” he said. He stuck his hand out, stars in his eyes. “I'm Cassio, but all my friends call me Cass.”

Koda froze. He felt his body awash with light and fire.

“Dakota. But my friends call me Koda,” he replied, finally taking his soulmate's hand in greeting.

Cassio timidly smiled at him, and he could only mirror him. They lost each other in the stars of their eyes.

Koda broke the spell first, blinking and shaking his head. “Cass, I want you to meet my sister, Emilia,” he said, turning to her, getting her attention to them. “Emilia, this is Cassio.”

Emilia lit up at that, immediately hugging Cass. He was surprised at the sudden familiarity, but hugged her back.

“Oh, Cassio! I’ve heard so much about you! Oh my God, I’m texting Mateo right now!” Emilia said ecstatically, whipping out her phone to get Mateo here.

Cass giggled at her antics, and then remembered himself. “Oh! I’m here with my friends, Heli and Lunè,” he said, reaching over to tap his friends over here. They turned to their small group, and raised their eyebrows. “Guys, this is my soulmate, Dakota!”

“Oh, hey!” they said in unison. Koda giggled.

“We’ve heard so much about you!” the paler one of the two said. He reached for his hand and shook it.

“Yeah, Cass wouldn’t shut up about you,” the darker one said, shaking his hand next. Koda blushed, graciously shaking his hand. Cass looked at him with hearts in his eyes, and Koda felt his heart burst with emotions. He felt warm inside.

 

Apparently, they all sat near each other, but on different rows, so they said their temporary goodbyes and sat to enjoy their nine hour flight back to Miami.

Koda was still buzzing from the realization that his St. Peter’s angel is his soulmate. He could see his curly hair peeking out from over his chair from his position. He can’t believe that the universe made them meet in Rome, of all places. In St. Peter’s Basilica, final resting place of the first pope. He wonders if there’s any connection. Maybe Peter also had a soulmate like this.

He sat and patiently watched four movies until he felt the plane start to descend.

Cass, Cass, Cass. He saw him get up and let some of the other passengers pass him. Koda neared, and their eyes met again.

Cass moved to walk before him, and they walked towards the exit in step.

 

“You live in Oregon, right?” Cass asked him on the moving walkway.

“Yeah, I do,” Koda nodded. “You stay here, in Miami.”

The smile Cass gave him was tinged by sadness. Three years of learning bits and pieces, hints of a bigger picture, and Koda didn’t know what to say.

The walkway ended, and they got off. Cass went to baggage claim, and Koda headed to the transitional flights.

 

They had, of course, exchanged numbers. It’d be pretty irresponsible of them if neither knew their soulmate’s number. Their siblings and friends also exchanged numbers, excited to get to know each other. Koda and Cass exchanged glances once more before Emilia and Mateo pulled him from the fork.

Koda had never felt lonelier than when he was sitting at the gate for Denver. They couldn’t make one single trip, they had to stop at Denver, fly to Portland, then take a taxi home to Astoria. It’d take a total of eight hours, and even though he didn’t fly the nine hours here from Milan with Cass by his side, they were finally together, and Koda had felt lighter than he’d ever been.

Emilia brought him some chocolate. She saw how forlorn he was. She sat next to him.

“She likes being in the sun.”

He looks at her, sees her own face glum. She turns her head to look at him.

“She’s also far away.”

Koda gives her some chocolate.

 

The visions stopped.

Once you meet your soulmate, all sensorial visions stop. The universe has finally fulfilled its purpose of crossing your paths, intermingling them until you both end up face to face. Now it’s up to you two if you pursue each other, enlacing yourselves even further.

It’s been several months now, and Koda hasn’t seen him. He thought of calling him, or texting him, but he was always overcome with a sudden feeling of shyness. He got three years of learning bits and pieces of the man, but when it finally came to interacting with him, he didn’t know where to start.

In the end, Cass was the one to call him.

“Hello?” Cass asked.

“Hi,” Koda answered. He could hear the smile from the other end.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner.”

“Me too. I chickened out a lot. I didn’t know what to say.” Koda’s surprised at himself. He’s never been this open about his feelings before. Maybe it’s because it’s with his soulmate? Who could understand him better than him?

“That’s okay, I didn’t either.” Cass chuckled. “We’re really bad at this, aren’t we?”

“What, the romance part? The getting to actually know each other part?”

“Aren’t they in descending order?”

“You… want to romance me?” Koda felt himself flush at the thought.

“Well, yeah. You’re my soulmate, I’d like to be able to kiss my soulmate.”

Koda held his phone to his chest, took a breath to compose himself. He’d forgotten that his parents were soulmates before his dad passed away. Did soulmates always fall in love?

He brought his phone back to his ear. “I always got sensorial visions of you fucking other guys, the least you could do is kiss me.”

Cass laughed heartily through the line. Koda gave his own smile.

“Aww, I’m sorry? I don’t know what to say, to that.” Koda thought Cass might actually be bashful, which made him laugh.

“No, it’s okay. It means that I’ve got big expectations that you better deliver on.”

“I’ll try my best, sir.”

Conversation after that was easy. They talked about their day, what they’ve been up to these past few months now that they couldn’t see each other in visions. Cass wanted to see him, and so did Koda.

“Hey, you know what I’ve been thinking?” Cass asked.

“No, darling, tell me,” Koda answered, laying back in his bed.

“Maybe we should meet up again?” He sounded shy.

“Of course we should! I want to be with you,” Koda said earnestly, sitting up in emotion.

“Cool, awesome! Um, do you think it’d be possible to meet somewhere in the middle? I think it’d be pretty nifty if when converged at the midpoint.”

“Wow, how romantic,” Koda deadpanned, but was hurriedly turning on his laptop to find the midpoint between Astoria and Miami. The result was Farmington, Kansas.

“Yeah, you think so?”

“Of course I do! Especially since it’s Farmington, Kansas.”

“Wait, really? Kansas?”

“Really, Kansas.”

“Jesus.”

“Or, would you like Macksville? Also Kansas.”

Cass was quiet for a moment. “... you know what? Maybe I’ll just go up there and surprise you.”

“If you do, then you already ruined the surprise, haven’t you?”

“Eh, I dunno about that. Seeing my beautiful face is a shock for many people.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.”

“Hey, Koda? I don’t know about you, but it’s really late here.”

“Really?” Koda asks, then remembers that time zones exist. “Oh crap, what time is it over there?”

“It’s midnight. What about you?”

“It’s eight o’clock. Only four hours difference?”

“Oh hey, that’s not so bad.”

“It reduces our time,” Koda said, a bit whining.

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“What are you going to do? Move here? Send for me?”

“You’ll see.”

 

They had said their goodnights and talk to you tomorrows, and Koda didn’t think much about what Cass had said.

He’d forgotten that Cass had promised to do something about their time zone differences, until a month later, the day that he was home on his day off and heard a knock on the door.

Koda went to open the door, and when he saw who was on his porch, his heart nearly jumped out of him.

“Cassio!”

“Surprise!”

Koda jumped into his arms, wrapping himself tightly around him. They spun a little bit, Koda reveling in being in his soulmate’s arms, Cass laughing into his hair.

 

After making sure Koda finally came at least thrice, they lay together in Koda’s bed, curled up together. Koda thought it’d be awkward being with him, seeing as how they haven’t been able to communicate so well.

Cass was tracing circles on his skin when he laid on his back and asked, “Did the saints have a soulmate?”

Cass looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“Because we met at St. Peter’s, and I wondered if he had a soulmate. We were near his tomb when I bumped into you.” He reached for Cass’ hand and intertwined their fingers.

“You think we’re paralleling him?” Cass brought their hands up to his lips and kissed Koda’s hand.

“Maybe. I don’t know. Are there any records of the saints having soulmates?”

“Well, would it be like the nuns and priests? Their soulmates are God, their visions start at younger ages so that they can realize they’re being called.”

“Yeah but,” Koda paused, thinking how to explain. “Did Peter love? He was a man, he was called upon by Jesus, but they weren’t monks.”

“Well, Jesus asked him if he loved him, and he said yes three times, so probably. But, this raises the question: did Jesus also have a soulmate?”

Koda turned his head to look at Cass. “Were Jesus and Peter soulmates?”

“Oh, now you’re raising the real questions.”

“No, I’m serious,” Koda defended, sitting up and towering over Cass. “Jesus was totally human and totally God, so he had to have had a soulmate. He left home when he was 30, and the first person he found was Peter.”

“Would he have had visions until he was thirty? He had visions for twelve years?”

“That’s not the point. The point is, is that, obviously, Peter was chosen to help Jesus and be his rock, but what if he was also the _ one _ ? Jesus was led to him because the universe made it so.”

Cassio suddenly lit up with understanding.

“That’s why we met in Rome.”

“There was no other way.” Koda reached to touch his face, caress his cheek.

Cass smiled up at him.

“Peter should be the patron saint of fated soulmates.”

Koda leaned down to kiss him, and got enveloped by Cass’ arms. They entangled themselves back together, never planning on letting go.


End file.
